Forever and Always
by Lentimental
Summary: Based off of the song Forever and Always by Parachute.


"Live every day as if it were your last." That's what Len would always say. In fact, that's the exact response he had given Rin that morning when she had asked him why he was up so early.

_Rin slowly blinked her eyes open as she felt the bed shake slightly. Her eyes met with Len's back as he was sitting on the bed, bent over to tie his shoes. Groaning, she took a deep breath before sitting up and scooting herself closer to her fiance to lean against his back heavily. "What time is it…?" she mumbled sleepily._

_Len couldn't help but chuckle softly, turning his body just enough so that Rin could shift from his back and over against his chest. "It's five in the morning," he replied, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head._

"_Ugh," Rin grimaced, burying her face in Len's banana designed sweater that he wore. "Why are you up so early?"_

"_Live every day as if it were your last," he said in an almost joking tone. "But really, if I'm going to be truthful, I was going to go out to get something for you. It was supposed to be a complete surprise and I was supposed to be back before you even woke up, but you caught me."_

"_Something for me…?" Rin pulled away from Len, looking up at him with her brows furrowed in confusion. As far as she could recall, there was nothing special about this particular day so why was he getting her a gift? "What is it?"_

"_Ah, now you're gonna have to just wait and see. But trust me, you'll love it." Len smiled widely, looking sure of himself. Rin couldn't help but smile as well. How could she not? Len made it a point to make sure that she knew that he loved her with every fiber of his being. "Go back to sleep, my love. I'll be back by the time you wake up again."_

Rin looked at the clock on the wall, reading that the time was now seven o'clock in the evening. She had been waiting for Len to come back home since she woke up around noon. At first she was a little annoyed, seeing as he had told her that he would be back before she woke up. But as the hours passed by, her annoyance slowly shifted to worry. She had called their friends, wondering if anyone knew where he was but everyone had told her that they hadn't seen him, which only intensified her worry. She turned her head back toward the window that she had been staring out for the past five hours, hoping to see Len turn into their driveway at any moment. Hoping that he would walk into the house and apologize to her and tell her that he had gotten distracted by a bunch of cute dogs or some other stupid reason.

The phone rang, causing Rin to practically jump out of her skin. She got up from where she sat and walked over to it, her hand hovered over the phone with hesitation. She had a bad feeling about this phone call, but she knew she had to pick it up. Swallowing her fear, she grabbed the phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello…?"

"Rin!" It was Miku. As Rin was about to exhale a breath that she didn't know she had been holding, Miku's next words stopped her. "Rin, get to the hospital as soon as you can. It's Len…"

"_Len, what are we doing here?" Rin asked as she looked around. Len had lead her through a forest of trees to an area where a big frozen lake sat. The morning sun shone on the untouched lake and surrounding areas of snow, displaying a brilliant sight of white and light blue. It was the epitome of beauty for such a Christmas morning._

_Rin heard the crunch of snow as Len shifted beside her and turned her head to look at him, an audible gasp escaping her lips. He stood there in front of her on one knee, a small box sitting in the palm of his hand. "Rin, I..." he whispered, clearing his throat before speaking a little louder. "You've made me the happiest man alive since the day we met. These past four years together almost seem like a dream and if I didn't know any better, I'd think that maybe it was… Your smile has the power to brighten my gloomy days. Your voice is like music to my ears, making me want to hear it every second of the day. The way your hair sways in the wind makes me want to run my hands through it. Your small, delicate little hands make me want to hold them for eternity… Each and every day, I fall even more in love with you. That being said," Len slowly opened the little box and revealed a small engagement ring within, his hands trembling. Whether it was from nervousness or the cold, she didn't know. "I want to be with you for the rest of my days… My life holds no meaning without you in it. So Rin… will you do me the greatest honor of marrying me?"_

Rin ran into the hospital as fast as she could, making her way to the front desk that Miku stood beside. "What happened? Where is he…?" she asked breathily.

Miku looked at her solemnly, placing a hand on her shoulder and leading her down a maze of halls. "Len was leaving the jewelry store this morning and some guy backed up his car way too fast and way too far… He ran into Len and he was pinned to the wall…" she explained slowly, hesitation clear in her voice as if she was contemplating whether it was even a good idea to explain it all to Rin. "T-the car started to drive off but Len's sweater got caught onto the back and... He ended up being dragged-"

Miku continued to talk, but her words fell on deaf ears. Rin could only play the scene in her head, causing her heart to throb painfully. She walked beside her teal friend, trying to keep a straight face until they got to the door of the room that she knew Len was residing in. Bracing herself, she opened the door and her heart immediately fell.

Len lay there on the hospital bed, bruises and little cuts littering his arms. His eyes looked sunken and his skin was pale; the color being way too close to the shade of white of the sheets he lay in. Trailing her eyes downward, Rin saw that the sheets that covered his lower half dipped around where his knees should be. She quickly covered her mouth as to not audibly gasp at the realization that his legs were amputated.

"Ah, Rin…" Len rasped, his voice hoarse. Rin averted her gaze from Len's legs and instead moved it to his face. A smile played at his lips under the oxygen mask that covered his mouth and his eyes had a spark to them, showing that he was clearly happy to see her despite the exhausted expression he wore.

"Len…!" Rin took three long strides toward Len's bedside before plopping herself in the chair beside it. She took one of his hands in both of hers and squeezed it tightly. His skin was cold; too cold for her liking. "Len, I…" she was at a loss for words. Seeing her beloved in the state he was in broke her, causing hot tears to stream down her cheeks.

"Hey now… It's okay," he cooed. "I'm right here, my sunshine… I'm right here…" Len reached his other hand toward her, wiping at her tears. The simple task seemed to take a small toll on him.

"B-but you're gonna…!" Rin cut herself off, not wanting to say it out loud. She feared that if she did, it would curse him and come true. But she knew. She knew in her gut that the man that lay before her was going to meet his end soon, though she didn't want to believe it.

"I'm not going to die…" Len stated, trying to convince himself more than Rin. "I can't die… We haven't gotten married yet…" The mere thought of Rin in a beautiful wedding dress seemed to brighten his mood. "I was thinking… After we get married, we can move into a bigger house. We'd definitely need the space considering we'll have four children."

Rin looked at him incredulously. How could he stay positive and think things like that in the state he was in? "Len, are you not understanding the gravity of the situation…?"

Len only gave her a small, tired smile. "Oh, you have to admit that it's a very Rin-teresting thought. Us having that many kids, that is."

A small snort escaped through her nose, having been caught off guard by his sudden pun. She sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. Len was probably the only person that she knew that could still joke around even when he was in immense pain. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm so Len-timental over you," she said, returning his pun with one of her own. The two of them stared at each other for a minute before bursting into laughter.

The two talked for a couple hours, the melancholic mood in the room having been shifted to a more joyous one. Rin then came up with an idea, to which she rose from her seat. "Give me a second, I'll be right back!" Ignoring Len's confused expression, she ran out of the hospital room and over to the Nurse's Station. "Could you possibly call up the chaplain?"

One of the nurses looked at Rin and nodded. "Of course," she replied, picking up the phone on the desk and making a quick call.

"Also if it isn't too much of a hassle for you all, I'd love it if you all could come to Kagamine Len's room," Rin called behind her, making her way to the room beside Len's. She opened the door to see two pairs of eyes meet hers and she shot them a friendly smile. "I'm sorry to intrude, but do you two happen to be be married?"

"Oh, um… Yes, we are," the pregnant brunette on the bed spoke.

Rin walked over to the bedside, looking at the male in the room first before looking at the woman on the bed. "My name is Rin. My husband is next door due to a hit and run accident and I have a strange request for you…"

"Oh, well uh… What might that be?" The brunette asked, before adding in." By the way, my name is Meiko and this is my husband, Kaito."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Rin smiled sweetly before she began to twiddle her thumbs nervously. "Would it be alright with you two if I could maybe… Borrow your wedding rings for a little while?"

Kaito looked confused, to say the least. "Why?"

"You two are invited to the next room over to find that out for yourselves, but it would be a huge favor to me if I could really just borrow your wedding rings… I don't exactly have a lot of time on my hands."

Reluctantly complying to Rin's wishes, Meiko slid her wedding ring off her finger and placed it in the palm of Rin's hand, Kaito following suit and handing her his own as well. "Thank you so much…!" Rin hurriedly made her way out of the room and back over to Len's room, where she already found the chaplain and a few other nurses waiting.

"Rin, what's going on?" Len questioned. Miku stood on the other side of the bed, just as confused as Len was.

"We're getting married. Right here. Right now," Rin stated simply, going back over to his bedside and kissing his forehead. After she did so, she turned to see Kaito pushing Meiko into the room in a wheelchair. "Perfect! We have witnesses and everything."

"Do you, Len, take Rin as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do," Len stated as confidently as he could in his weakened state, sliding the ring onto Rin's ring finger.

"Do you, Rin, take Len as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do," Rin responded, a bright smile on her face though her eyes watered. She slid the ring onto Len's ring finger, holding both of his hands tightly in hers once she did.

"Then with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." The chaplain announced, a small smile on his lips.

Rin leaned down toward Len who lay on the bed so that her newfound husband could reach her. The blond male slowly slipped off the oxygen mask he wore. He then reached over to gently caress Rin's cheek before leaning closer and pressing his lips against hers. It was soft and sweet, filled with the love he held for her. The witnesses in the room all clapped and congratulated the two once they separated from the kiss.

The joy in the room only lasted a few minutes however as Len suddenly began to go into cardiac arrest. The erratic beeping of the heart monitor sent Rin into a panic. "W-what's happening…?" She asked worriedly, though she was ignored. Immediately the nurses were on him and pushing Rin to the side, yelling for a code blue. As doctors filed into the room quickly, Rin's vision of Len was blocked off due to her short nature. "Somebody tell me what's happening to my husband!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Miku ushered her friend out of the room with more force than she would have liked, seeing as Rin was fairly persistent to stay in the room. She had every reason to be. They stood beside Kaito and Meiko and stared at the commotion within the room through the glass window, which the nurses had neglected to close the blinds to. They watched the doctors frantically trying to stabilize the male that lay on the bed. The heart monitor flatlined, forcing a defibrillator to be used to try and jumpstart Len's heart again.

The doctors tried desperately to resuscitate him for forty-five minutes, having done everything in their power to keep Len alive. Time of death was called, the doctors and nurses walking out of the room with a defeated look on their faces.

"No…" Rin whispered, running back into the room where one last nurse was left to clean up the mess. Standing beside the hospital bed that Len lay in, she shook him. "Wake up!" She demanded, denial written all over her face. "Len, please wake up!" She leaned down and pressed her forehead to his, sobs beginning to wrack her body. As the realization slowly began to hit her that the love of her life was actually gone, she clung tightly to the hospital gown that he wore. "Please," she begged, her voice cracking. "I need you…"

Rin sat in her living room, staring at the bag of Len's belongings that a nurse had given to her. Her eyes were swollen from hours of crying. She sat alone, having asked Miku to leave her alone for the time being. It felt unreal that Len was really gone; that he had died. She finally leaned forward and grabbed the bag after having stared at it for hours. Opening it, she looked through everything until she came across a small black box with gold designs on it and a letter addressed to her. Deciding to open the box first, she found a gold locket. Opening it, she read 'I will love you for eternity' engraved within it. Rin had to bite her lip to keep from crying again as she opened up the letter. The handwriting was scrawled out in Len's beautiful penmanship, though it looked rushed. She assumed he had written it during the time he was stable and while she was on her way to the hospital.

_Rin, I hope you never get this letter but I just wanted to write this just in case. You know what I always say: Live every day as if it were your last. And if you're receiving this then… that must mean that my last day has come. I know you're going to be sad and I don't blame you. I would be too if our situations were switched. Anyway, I just want to tell you that you are the best thing that has ever happened in my life. Please keep in mind that I will always, always love you. Even if I'm not there. I love you more than anything, and nothing will ever change that._

Tears freely streamed down Rin's face as she read the letter. Her sobs echoed throughout the empty house, painfully reminding her that she was going to wake up alone every morning from then on. Her beloved was now gone, but her love for him would never, ever die. She'd love him until the end of her days; she'd love him forever and always.


End file.
